Bottle-stopper.



No. 63|,nsa. Patented Aug. |57, |899. .1. P. ERIE.

BOTTLE STOPPEH.

(Application led Har. 24, 1897.] (No Model.) Sheets--S-heet gg vllllllllllIllIlIIIIIIIIIJlIIIIIIllllll-l:

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No. 631,068. Patented Aug. l5, |899.

J. P. Eme.

BOTTLE STPPEH.

(Application filed Mar. 24, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

-.I AMES PHILIP ERIE, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

BOTT'LESTOPPR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 631,068, dated August15, 1899.

Application led March 24', 1897. Serial No. 629,090. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES PHILIP ERIE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the -county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBottle-Stoppers, (patented to me in England, No. 9,001, April 8, 1897;in France, No. 266,081, April17, 1897; in Belgium, No. 127,665, April17, 1897; in Italy, No. 44,565, April 17, 1897; in Canada, No. 55,838,May 6, 1897; in Spain, No. 20,737, May 18, 1897, and in Austria, No.lo`/2,233,

April 18, 1898,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in bottlesor analogous vessels and seals or Stoppers therefor; and it is theobject of the invention to provide a bottle with inaccessible means toindicate when a portion of the contents of the bottle has beenwithdrawn.

It is a further object of the invention to provide the bottle with anon-accessible self-closing stopper or seal adapted normally to beactuated from the exterior of the bottle to open and close the outletthereof and with means for automatically operating the stopper to closethe outlet at a predetermined time and for locking the stopper againstfurther movement; and a still further object of the invention is toprovide means for accurately measuring and separating the quantity ofliquid which it is desired'to withdraw from the bottle before suchliquid is poured from the bottle.

With these objects in view the invention consists in such features ofconstruction and arrangement and combination of the parts as will behereinafter more particularly referred to.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specilication, andin which like letters andnumerals of reference indicate correspondingparts, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a bottle constructed inaccordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a similar View on the line x ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View on the line y y of Fig. 1.Fig. Il is a vertical sectional view of a modiiied form of theinvention, and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the combinedstopperlock and registering-disk.

4height with the bottle or with the main body thereof. As shown in Figs.1 and 2, this casing is cylindrical and is arranged within the bottle toextend from the mouth thereof through the neck into a depression orrecess 2 in the bottom of the bottle, and the lower end of said casingis left open to constitute the opening 1.

Communicating with the chamber Z) of the casing B, near the lower endthereof, through an' opening'B, is a vertical tube C, which ispreferably transparent and coincident with or of greater height than thebottle. This tube preferably extends parallel to the casing B throughthe neck of the bottle, and its outer end is left open for reception ofa suitable stopper 4.

In the interest of cheapness and convenience in assembling the bottlecasing B and tube C are each formed separately, the tube and casingbeing subsequently connected together by fusion, while they may besecured within the neck of the bottle by fusion or by cementing themthereto. A flange or fillingpiece 5 is inserted into the neck of thebottle to completely ll the spaces not occupied by the casing B and tubeO, thereby preventing any communication with the interior of the bottlethrough its mouth.

Upon the interior or exterior of the tube C are formed a series ofgradations 6 to indicate spoonfuls, drams, ounces, dac., by means ofwhich the quantity of fluid which enters the tube may be accuratelymeasured before it is poured therefrom. As shown, the gradations areupon the interior of the tube C.

The interior of the casing B at its lower end for a distance both aboveand below the opening 3 is smooth, and within this space is a cork orstopper 7, which is adapted to be reciprocated therein to close the saidopen- IOO ing and to be raised above it to permit the contents of thebottle to flow through the opening 1 into the chamber b and opening 3into the tube C. Upon the interior of the casing B above the opening 3are stops S, which serve to limit the upward movement of the stopper 7.Connected to the stopper and extending centrally and longitudinallythrough the chamber b and through an opening 8 in the upper closed endthereof is a rod or bar 9, having at its upper end a ring or knob, bymeans of which it may be lifted, and preferably the bar is formedrectangular in crosssection, and the opening 8fL in the upper end of thecasing is correspondingly formed to prevent rotation of the bar in thechamber b. Within this chamber is a spring 10, preferably bearinguponthe end wall of the casing B and connected to the rod 9 in such manneras to move the rod and its attached stopper to automatically close theopening 3 whenever the rod has been released by the operator afterhaving been lifted to uncover the opening 3.

Upon opposite sides of the rod 9 and extending practically the wholelength thereof are series of teeth orprojections 12, the lower faces ofthe teeth of the opposite series being oppositely inclined and the upperfaces constituting shoulders or bearings 13. Loosely mounted upon thetoothed rod 9 is a disk 14, which is adapted to be moved step by stepthrough the chamber of casing B. This disk serves both as an indicatoror telltale to indicate when a portion of the centen ts of the bottle.has been removed and as a lock to hold the stopper 7 permanently closedafter the disk has been moved to a predetermined point, and said disk isprovided with a central rectangular opening 14 for reception of the rod9 and with spring-catches 15, the ends of which engage the bearings orshoulders 13 of the rod 9. A

Upon the interior of the casing B, at opposite sides and extendinglongitudinally thereof from points just above the stops S to near thetop of the casing, are series of teeth 16, the upper faces of whichconstitute bearings or shoulders, and preferably these series of teethare arranged out of transverse alinement with the teeth 12 of the rod 9.Arranged to engage with the teeth 16 are spring-catches 17, carried uponthe indicating-disk at its periphery and adapted to slide freely overthe teeth when the disk is being lifted and to spring into engagementwith the shoulders or bearings of the teeth to prevent a retrogrademovement of said disk.

It will be seen from the above that the relative arrangement andconstruction of the teeth 12 and 16 of the rod 9 and casing B and theengaging spring-catches 15 and 17 of the disk 14 are such that when theoperator lifts the rod 9 to draw the stopper 7 above the opening 3 thedisk Will also be lifted by reason of the engagement of the catches 15with the bearings of the teeth 12. This lifting of the rod 9 causes thecatches 17 to slideY freely over one or more successive teeth of theseries 16, according to the extent to which the rod is moved, and tospring into engagement with the bearings of the said teeth 16. As therod 9 is lifted the spring 10 is put under sufficient tension toautomatically lower the rod and the stopper when the rod is released bythe operator, and thereby close the opening 3.

The spring-catches 15 and 17 may be formed separately from theindicating-disk 14 and secured thereto; but preferably said catches areintegral with the disk and are formed by providing the disk withparallel slits 19 20,

which extend from the central opening letal and from the peripherythereof, respectively, and then bending down the portions of the diskbetween said slits, as indicated in Fig. 5. The disk is also provided atits periphery with recesses 21,which coincide with and per mit the freepassage therethrough of the stops S when the disk is being inserted intothe chamber b.

Projecting upon the interior of the casing B, immediately above and inalinement with the ends of the series of teeth 16, are segmental stops22, which are of greater width than the teeth of said series. Thefunction and arrangement of these stops are such that when theindicating-disk has been lifted through the chamber b and the catches 17thereof brought to engage with the bearings of the extreme upper teethof the series 16 further upward movement of the disk will be preventedby reason of the said stops 22 coming into contact with the non-yieldingedge of the disk, and when the rod 9 has been lifted to bring the diskto this position and to simultaneously draw up the stopper 7 and thenreleased the spring 10 will depress the rod and stopper and the catches15 will spring into engagement with the bearings of the teeth 16. Afterthis the rod and stopper cannot be lifted again for the reason thatfurther upward movement of the indicating-disk is impossible and suchmovement is necessary in eecting the raising of the rod and stopper.

Preferably, although it need not necessarily be the case, the dischargeend of the tube C is provided with the cork or stopper 4C in order thatwhen the stopper 7 is lifted above the opening but a small quantity, ifany, of the liquid will enter the tube C, the entrance of the liquidinto the tube being resisted by the air confined therein, and bygradually removing the stopper 4 the oW of the liquid into the tube maybe increased. This is especially desirable when the liquid is to bewithdrawn in small regulated quantities.

In the modification of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4 of thedrawings the construction is substantially identical with'that shown inthe remaining gures except that the casing B and tube C are arrangedupon the exterior of a closed vessel of somewhat different shape and thecasing is provided with a nip- IOO IIO

eeroes ple 26, which is secured in an openingin the lower' end of thevessel, as by fusing it to the vessel. In this modication the end or"the casing is extended below the opening l for reception of a stopper27, which is inserted into the casing to close it at its lower end afterthe vessel A has been filled and the parts assembled. This stopper isprovided with a transverse opening 2S, into the opposite ends of whichare inserted pins 29, and between the inner ends of these pins a spring30 isinterposed to press the pins outwardlyinto engagement with recesses3l, formed in the interior of the casing. It will thus be seen thatafter the stopper 27 has once been seated it is impossible to remove itwithout first breaking the casing, thereby rendering the bottle orvessel incapable of further use.

Vithout limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement ofparts shown and described, I claim as my inventionl. A bottle providedwith a discharge-opening and a stopper controlling the same, of avisible inaccessible intermittently-movable indicating device andconnections between the stopper and indicating device for operating thelatter to indicate when the bottle has been opened, substantially asdescribed.

2. A bottle provided with a discharge-opening and aninaccessible stopperfor controlling the discharge-opening, means for operating the stopperfrom the exterior of the bottle, a traveling indicating device forautomatically locking the stopper to close the dischargeopening at apredetermined time, and connections between the stopper and indicatingdevice substantially as described.

8. A bottle provided with a discharge, and an inaccessible stopper,adapted to be moved from the exterior of the bottle to open and closethe discharge opening, inaccessible means for automatically locking thestopper to close the dischargeopening after the stopper has been moved anumber of times, and connections intermediate the stopper and itslocking means for operating the latter substantially as described.

4. Abottle provided witha discharge-opening, and an inaccessibleself-closing stopper, adapted to be moved from the exterior of thebottle to open the discharge-opening, and inaccessible means forautomatically locking the stopper in its closed position, substantiallyas described.

5. Abottle provided with a discharge-opening and a stopper, ofinaccessible means for locking the stopper to close the dischargeopeningat a predetermined time, and devices connecting the stopper and lockingmeans actuated at each opening of the discharge to move the said lockingmeans, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication in thepresence ot' two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES PHILIP ERIE.

IVitnesses:

PAUL XV. STEVENS, WILLIAM I-I. REID.

